Sure, but why/how/which part is substandard? Jared
> Sent: Monday, August 07, 2017 > From: "Chuck McCown" <ch...@wbmfg.com> > To: af@afmug.com > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT Municipally funded ISPs > > iProvo sold out (gave the system away) to Google. Still substandard. > > -----Original Message----- > From: fiber...@mail.com > Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2017 11:01 PM > To: af@afmug.com > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT Municipally funded ISPs > > That's interesting. Can you share more details about being a service > provider on the iProvo and AF networks? In what way we're they substandard? > > Jared > > > Sent: Monday, August 07, 2017 > > From: "Sterling Jacobson" <sterl...@avative.net> > > To: "af@afmug.com" <af@afmug.com> > > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT Municipally funded ISPs > > > > I agree with that. > > > > The numbers never added up. iProvo never added up, Utopia never added up, > > Amercian Fork system numbers never made any sense. > > > > I was a network provider on iProvo and AF networks for a while and sold > > them off since they were always substandard and profit was driven to > > minimum. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of ch...@wbmfg.com > > Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2017 10:46 AM > > To: af@afmug.com > > Subject: [AFMUG] OT Municipally funded ISPs > > > > Here is an editorial in the Deseret News today. It is just an opinion. > > > > And I know Roger has been a reader of this list (Roger runs UTOPIA). > > > > But I have always been against municipal ISPs on principle. Some things > > the government is good at, some things they are not good at. > > > > Roads and Streets == OK > > Police and Fire == OK > > EMS = OK but there are private providers that are OK too. > > Water and Sewer = OK but there are many private systems Power and Gas = > > Meh - I work in a city that has sold off their power and gas to private > > because it was not a revenue center and they had lots of power > > distribution problems. > > > > Telecommunications != OK > > > > They almost always seem to be problematic. And they compete with all of > > you > > (us) folks that can do a better job. (Sorry Roger, but that is my > > opinion). > > > > > > BY BILLY HESTERMAN > > > > FOR THE DESERET NEWS > > > > A longstanding principle of the Utah Taxpayers Association is if a service > > can be found in the yellow pages, then government shouldn’t be providing > > it. > > We have seen far too many times where government attempts to compete with > > the private sector and ends up wasting taxpayer money. One prime example > > of this is the failed UTOPIA boondoggle that continues to plague the 11 > > cities that created the entity. > > > > On Aug. 14, the Utah Infrastructure Agency, which was created in 2011 to > > give UTOPIA more borrowing capacity, will vote on taking out a $13 million > > bond to further build out the UTOPIA network in hopes of making the whole > > effort profitable. The vote will likely pass but the effort to make UTOPIA > > and UIA a success for taxpayers will never be realized. > > > > This attempt to continue to send money after a bad idea has to stop. > > > > The private sector is already providing the same service that can be > > obtained through UTOPIA and it is past time that the local governments > > that created this mess find a way out. > > > > Recently, the University of Pennsylvania released a study that examined 20 > > municipally owned fiber networks from across the nation; UTOPIA was > > included in the study. > > > > The report found that a majority of these networks struggle to recover the > > costs that were incurred to build them. It went on to show that of the 20 > > projects, only nine have had a positive revenue stream but that of those > > nine, five are generating returns so small that it would take more than > > 100 years for the project costs to be recovered. Only two of the 20 > > networks are expected to earn enough to cover their project costs during > > the useful life of the networks. > > > > The Penn report went on to state that these government-owned ventures > > struggle to ever make a profit and put taxpayers in danger of seeing their > > local government increase debt, lose bond rating status and elected > > officials becoming distracted from other important issues because they are > > solely focused on the government’s fiber business. The report found that > > if UTOPIA continues in its current state, that the project will likely > > never turn a profit. It observed in a five-year span from 2010-2014 that > > the network only obtained 11,000 subscribers and that with a low > > subscription take the network was realizing less than $30 in revenue per > > household in the cities that make up UTOPIA. That is well below the $446 > > per household benchmark achieved by other projects that the report looked > > at. > > > > I am often asked why the Utah Taxpayers Association cares so deeply about > > the UTOPIA issue. One statement from the Penn report sums up why we have > > taken the position we have as the report states, “Many cities managing > > these projects have faced defaults, reductions in bond ratings, and > > ongoing liability, not to mention the toll that troubled municipal > > broadband ventures can take on city leaders in terms of personal turmoil > > and distraction from other matters important to citizens. City leaders > > should carefully assess all of these costs and risks before permitting a > > municipal fiber program to go forward.” > > > > The risks and consequences are too much for taxpayers to shoulder. > > > > UTOPIA and UIA officials should vote against the upcoming $13 million bond > > and start looking for new directions to take the network that will be > > beneficial for taxpayers instead of continually investing money into a > > sinking ship that will never be sea-worthy. > > > > Billy Hesterman is the vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. > > > > > >
